Torn
by Kate Stone
Summary: At the end of 8X24 "Flight", April, Jackson, Alex, and Chief Webber are still at the residents dinner. This entry picks up from there, focused on Jackson and April!
1. Chapter 1

**So, I am new to FanFiction. This is my first story ever. I am a huge fan of Grey's Anatomy and love the storyline right now between Jackson and April, so I thought I would try to write one. Hope you guys like it!**

Jackson knew that going to this dinner was a bad idea. He felt bad for Chief Webber because he had been really excited about this dinner all day. Even during surgery he said that he was "jazzed about dinner". As the night went on, Jackson was beginning to grow jealous of Meredith and Cristina. Where were they? He knew that Chief Webber wanted to include the twisted sisters, but they were running awfully late.

"So Karev, are you excited about working at John Hopkins" asked Chief Webber.

"Um...Yeah, very excited" responded Karev.

"That's good…good, they um have a great fellowship program there" replied the Chief.

_Great…this dinner turned out to be just great,_ Jackson thought. Jackson still felt weird around Chief because he slept with his mom.

"What about you Jackson… are you excited about Tulane?" Chief asked.

"Ahh yup… I am very eager to start" was all Jackson could get out.

"Good, very good…" Chief replied. Jackson could tell that he was trying to make conversation so that the night wasn't so awkward.

The Chief's phone then began to ring. Jackson could tell that he was happy to get a phone call. Anything was better than just sitting here.

"Oh, it's Dr. Hunt, I should pick this up, I will be right back" Chief said as he backed out of his chair and walked toward the door outside.

"This night freakin sucks" said Karev once Chief was outside.

"Yeah, where are Meredith and Cristina?" asked Jackson.

"I don't know, I bet they are almost here" said a positive April.

"Well they need to hurry up, I want this dinner to be done already. I'll be right back, I gotta take a piss" said Alex.

"Um…ok" April said while looking at Jackson disgusted. "A little too much information Alex".

Alex just smirked at April and headed to the restroom. This left Jackson and April alone at the table. Jackson has felt awkward around April ever since he took her virginity the weekend of the boards. Although Jackson had a great time, he knew that April felt guilty about it. And to make matters worse, April failed her boards and refused to talk to him about their night together. Before they left for the dinner tonight, Jackson told April that he chose Tulane. She was of course proud of him because they were best friends, but when she told Jackson that she was happy for him, he felt hurt. He knew that she was just being supportive, but he wanted her to be upset or something. He knew that he was going to miss her like hell and it hurt him to see that she was so happy. He felt a spark the two times they were together and did not know if she felt the same way. She has been such a great friend to him for years and he trusted her completely. Deciding to leave was such a hard choice for him to make, but he knew that it was the right thing to do.

Because he felt this way and could not hold his feelings in anymore, he told her how he really felt. He remembered their conversation earlier…_I feel sick by the way. Sick to leave here, to leave you, but I'm so glad you're so freakin happy about it._

When he said this he let everything out in the air. He wanted her to know exactly how he felt. When she replied to him he was shocked. She let him know exactly how she felt too. She was not happy because she was not the person she thought she was. She told him that she loved having sex with him because it changed her, but she was not happy that she wouldn't be a virgin for the man she was going to marry. She also didn't want him to feel bad about it because he was her best friend. She realized that her problems are her problems and they are not going away. She was also sad that Jackson was leaving in a few weeks and she might not ever see him again. So she said that for tonight she wanted to forget about all of her problems and just be happy. Because of this conversation earlier, he wanted to ignore their problems and be happy.

"So tonight is going well" Jackson said sarcastically.

"It's not so bad" replied April who was trying to be positive.

"April, this dinner freakin sucks, just admit it" Jackson laughed.

"It does, it's so bad; there is nothing for anyone to talk about" April laughed. "You know Chief is just really excited about this dinner because of Meredith, and it is just awkward because she isn't here".

"You got that right" Jackson said as he moved a stray piece of April's hair behind her ear.

"Umm….thanks" April said turning beat red.

"No problem" Jackson said looking into her eyes deeply.

April moved uncomfortably in her chair and began rambling nervously, "So Tulane… you know that I am very proud of you. Tulane has a great program and you are going to do great there, I really believe that you will".

"Thanks April, that's very nice of you to say" Jackson replied as he took a sip of his drink.

"Being happy remember" April said playfully.

"Of course, you excited to be going home" Jackson asked.

"Um… yeah, I'll be able to see my family and help with the farm and stuff" April said as she took a large swig of her drink. Jackson knew she was trying to hide her disappointment.

"Hey" Jackson said getting April's attention. "You know that this is just a minor setback. Next year you are going to rock your boards and receive offers from every high ranking hospital" Jackson said kindly. He wanted her to remember that she was still a great doctor.

"So Ohio and Tulane aren't really near each other" April said ignoring the subject. "I expect you to call me all the time even though you are going to be very busy kicking ass!" April was trying to make light of the sensitive subject.

"Not really a phone call kind of guy April" joked Jackson as he continued drinking.

"Jackson you better keep in touch!" April said as she hit him playfully on his arm.

"Hey!" Jackson laughed almost spitting his drink all over the table. "I'm only kidding. Of course I am going to keep in touch, you're really important to me". Jackson said waiting for April's reaction.

April just smiled and looked away.

Chief then came back to the table looking worried.

"Is everything okay Chief?" April asked.

Chief sat back down in his chair and looked at his residents. Alex had just returned to his seat moments ago. The Chief was still gripping his cell phone. He placed his hands down uncomfortably on the table and spoke. "The plane never made it to Boise Memorial".

**What do you guys think? Okay for a first time? Leave feedback **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone. Sorry for taking so long to update this story. I was originally going to keep it a one-shot, but I decided to make it a multi-chapter. I'm not sure where I am going yet with this story, but hopefully it will turn out ok!**

Jackson could not believe what was happening. Six of his friends were lost. No one knew where they were or if they were alive. After Chief Webber told the residents that the plane never made it to Boise, he decided to go back to the hospital to help Hunt. He suggested that Jackson, April, and Alex go home and keep their pagers on.

Alex in the passenger seat was tapping his fingers on the armrest when he finally said something, "Jackson we have to go to the hospital".

"Webber told us to go home and wait to be paged" replied Jackson.

"I can't just go home and do nothing, I need to help" said Alex.

"If we go to the hospital it will just cause more chaos" Jackson said.

"Screw what the Chief said, our friends are missing and might be dead. We are going to the hospital now!" Alex yelled.

Jackson just continued to drive towards their apartment. There was nothing they could do but wait to hear from Webber. Being at the hospital wouldn't help.

"Avery, turn around now!" yelled Alex.

From the backseat April spoke, "Jackson we should go to the hospital. If we go home we will just worry. At least at the hospital we can maybe help".

Jackson looked through his rear view mirror at April. She looked so scared and small sitting in the backseat. He looked over at Alex who was nervous. She was right; if they went home they would just worry. "Ok fine" Jackson said as he turned the car around and headed to the hospital.

"Thanks" Alex said.

* * *

When they arrived at the hospital, they quickly found Hunt and Webber in a conference room with the police and the rescue team. Hunt spotted them outside the conference room and waved them in.

"What are you guys doing here, I told you to go home" said Webber.

"I appreciate you guys coming here but there really isn't anything you can do" Hunt said.

"Come on Hunt, we couldn't just go back to our apartment" said Alex.

"Are you sure there isn't anything we can do to help" asked April.

"Not really" said Hunt. "I cannot believe this is happening. I should have listened to my messages earlier. I should have called Boise to make sure they got there safe".

"Don't blame yourself, there's no way you could have known this was going to happen" said Webber. He looked at the residents and asked, "Can one of you guys call Bailey and Torres, they should now what is going on" asked Webber.

"Yeah we can do that. We will be right back" said Jackson as he, Alex, and April left the conference room. They all stood in the hallway starring at each other. The phone calls they were about to make were going to be tough to do. Yet again, a horrible tragedy was occurring at Seattle Grace Mercy Death.

* * *

April was sitting at a table in the daycare center with Sofia and Zola. April offered to watch them when Callie and Bailey arrived. It was a way for her to help.

"How is it going in here" asked Jackson as he walked into the daycare center. Alex followed behind him with a coffee for April.

"It's going fine in here, right Zola and Sofia?" The babies just smiled and continued playing together. She smiled at the babies and then took her coffee from Alex "Thanks Alex".

Alex just nodded his head and sat down next to her. "I cannot believe this is happening" said Alex. Jackson sat down on the other side of April as Alex continued speaking. "It's like this hospital is haunted. Our friends are in the middle of freakin nowhere. We don't even know if they're alive!"

"Alex I know this is horrible, but you have to have hope" replied April.

"I would if bad things didn't always happen here" said Alex.

"I'm sure Hunt and the rescue team is almost done making a plan. We just need to be patient" said Jackson.

"I don't know, I just need to walk around, I can't just sit here and think about this" Alex said as he left the room.

"I feel so bad for him, he is really worried. His two closet friends and his mentor are out there" said April.

"I know" replied Jackson.

"Are you ok, with Mark being out there?" asked April. She knew that Mark and Jackson had become really close. Mark had really helped Jackson this year become a better surgeon.

"I don't know. I'm really worried about everyone. I just hope that everything will be ok. Are you ok?" asked Jackson.

"Yeah, I'm fine" quickly answered April. She was looking at the ground and seemed very worried. Jackson knew she was lying.

"Are you sure?" Jackson asked as he scooted closer to her. He looked right into her eyes.

April looked right at him and spoke, "Alex is right. I just don't get how the universe works. Why do bad things keep on happening to good people? You know what I mean? Doctors are good people, we save lives. If this is true, then why does the universe crash a plane full of doctors, full of good people?"

Jackson grabbed her hand and held it. "April I don't know, but you have to think positively".

April let her hand go from his grip. "What if the rescue team is too late Jackson? What if they don't find them in time? If Arizona and Mark don't come back, Callie will lose her wife and best friend, Sofia and Zola will lose a father and a mother. You and Alex will lose your mentors. Webber will lose the closet thing he has ever had to a daughter." April looked at Zola and Sofia who were just playing, they had no idea that something horrible was happening. She looked back at Jackson and tears began to form in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away from her eyes. "I'm sorry" April spoke quietly.

Jackson reached over and gave April a hug. "Why are you apologizing? I know that this is a scary situation. Many different things can happen, good or bad". Jackson pulled away and put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her. She looked so scared. "You just can't think like that, ok?" Jackson asked.

"I'll try" April spoke. She wiped her tears away and stood up. "Can you help me put Zola and Sofia to bed?"

"Of course". Jackson stood up and put his hand on the small of Aprils back as they walked over to Zola and Sofia.

**What do you guys think?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry this took forever to update. Here it is!**

It was the middle of the night when Callie came by the daycare to get Sofia and Zola. April could tell that Callie was sad. She had looked like she had been crying. April felt so bad for her. Her wife and best friend were missing.

"Are you sure you want to take Zola, I can watch her, it's not a big deal" said April.

"You have been watching both of them all night Kepner. It's fine. I'll take her to my apartment. Thank you again for watching them". Callie said.

April just smiled lightly and asked, "How are you doing with all of this?"

Callie looked at Sofia who was in her baby carriage. Her eyes welled up with tears. April could tell she was trying to hold them back. Callie wiped her eyes and said, "I just can't believe this is actually happening".

Callie started crying lightly and she put her head in her hands. April formed tears in her eyes and hugged Callie. "I'm so sorry Callie, I cannot imagine being in your place right now. But you have to have faith. Hunt and the rescue team are almost done assembling a plan and hopefully they will find everyone".

Callie continued crying in Aprils soothing arms and said, "I know, I know. I just keep praying and praying; I haven't stopped all day. I just can't lose them, Sofia cannot lose her parents".

April stepped back and looked at Callie. She was wiping her tears away from her eyes. "Hey, look at me" April said. Callie did as she was told. "I know that this is horrible, but Hunt is awesome in a crisis. He is going to find them; Hunt is going to find them".

Callie wiped away her tears again and said, "I really hope so April. I'm sorry, this is embarrassing".

"Don't apologize" April said looking at Zola and Sofia in their baby carriages. "Are you sure you want to take Sofia and Zola home, I can still watch them if you want".

"No it's okay", Callie said looking at the two babies, "I want to be with both of them tonight" She looked away from the babies and said, "Go to bed April, you must have been up all night".

April looked at the kids again and said, "You sure?"

Callie looked at her with a slight smile and said, "Kepner, I'm sure, thank you for everything".

"I'm glad to help". She bent down in front of the carriages and grabbed Sofia's and Zola's hands. "Bye guys, I'll see you two tomorrow". She gave them both a kiss on their cheeks and stood back up.

Zola and Sofia looked up at Kepner and waved goodbye with smiles.

Callie was about to leave with the babies when she turned to April, "Thank you for everything, I mean it".

April smiled at her and nodded. Callie smiled back and turned around to leave.

* * *

Callie was right, she was exhausted. She had been watching Zola and Sofia for a long time. She wasn't sure where Jackson or Alex was, so she decided to sleep in an on call room. Her car wasn't at the hospital because they all had driven together in Jackson's car. She also didn't want to call Jackson or Alex because they might be sleeping.

She grabbed a pair of scrubs in the locker room and walked toward an on call room. When she walked into the on call room she saw somebody sleeping. She knew instantly that it was Jackson. He looked so peaceful sleeping. The plane being missing had put a toll on everyone. Mark and Lexie were both very close to Jackson. She knew that he was very worried, but he wouldn't show it.

She began to think about how everything had changed between them. Jackson was her best friend; their relationship was very special to her. Having sex with him in San Francisco had confused her. She wasn't sure if God was listening to her anymore. She hid her relationship with God because she didn't want to be made fun of. What she did with Jackson changed her, and she loved him for that. She had decided that having sex with Jackson freed herself from God's limitations. Even with this realization she was still not happy because she was not the person she thought she was. She was still upset that she wasn't a board certified surgeon or a virgin for the man she was going to marry. She also didn't like that Jackson felt bad about it and was leaving in a few weeks.

Everything was so messy. She put these thoughts to the back of her mind because there were bigger problems occurring. Their friends were missing. The problems she and Jackson were having would have to wait. The rescue team was set to leave tomorrow morning for a search and rescue mission. She just needed to get some sleep and deal with everything tomorrow.

She looked at Jackson before she turned around to leave. He was gorgeous even when he was sleeping. She looked away and began to close the door when the door began to make a huge screeching noise. "Shit" April whispered. She continued to close the door when she saw that Jackson was looking at her.

Jackson woke up to the loud creaking noise and thought he saw April leaving the room. "April, is that you?" Jackson asked while blocking his eyes from the bright light streaming in from the hallway.

April opened the door a little and whispered, "Hey Jackson, I'm sorry I woke you up. I was just trying to find somewhere to sleep. I'm um just going to go find another room, sorry again, go back to sleep".

Jackson propped himself on his elbow and his sheets fell down a little. He wasn't wearing a shirt. April thought about how hot he was while staring at his chiseled chest. She was about to leave when Jackson said, "All of the other on call rooms are being used already. I walked around the hospital for like an hour before finding an open one. Just stay in here, I can go somewhere else".

"Jackson I am not going to kick you out, you can stay in here. I can find somewhere else and you were here fir…"

Jackson cut her off saying, "April, you need sleep".

April looked at him as he got out of the bed and stood up. He was only wearing boxers. He was picking up his shirt when she said, "Why don't we just both stay in here, we both need sleep, it has been a rough day".

"Are you sure, I can leave if you want" Jackson asked.

"Yeah… stay, you said there were no open rooms anyways" April said with a slight smile.

"Okay, well I can just sleep on the floor then…" Jackson suggested.

"Don't be ridiculous Jackson". She couldn't let him sleep on the floor. She already woke him up. Even though this made her feel uncomfortable, she wouldn't let him sleep on the gross, cold hospital floor. "We can both sleep in the bed".

"Are you sure April" Jackson replied with concern.

"It's fine Jackson, really" April answered reassuringly while shutting the door behind her and walking fully into the room.

He smiled and said, "Okay". He threw his shirt back on the floor.

She starting blushing when she realized she was holding her scrubs and that she needed to change out of her dress. "I'm just um gonna change into these ah scrubs" she said while walking toward the corner of the room.

Jackson just looked at her and said, "Okay". Was he supposed to leave the room or just look the other way? It wasn't like he hadn't seen her naked before. "Do you need me to unzip your dress?"

"Um", _of course this dress has a zipper_, "I think I ah can um" she put her scrubs on the ground next to her and tried to get the zipper, but she couldn't reach it, "yeah, I um can't reach…" she said as she turned around so she was facing the wall and her back was to him.

Jackson walked over to help her. He knew that she felt uncomfortable, and they haven't even gotten in the bed yet. When he was behind her she could feel his hot breath on her neck. She instantly blushed and got goose bumps.

April then pushed her hair to one side of her neck. Jackson just starred at her exposed neck and fought urges to trail kisses down it. He put one of his hands on her shoulder and grabbed the zipper with his other hand and began to unzip her dress slowly. As he pulled the zipper down the dress he saw her bra strap and then the small of her bare back. Jackson had always thought that April was pretty, but recently he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. He found her to be really sexy now. He wasn't lying earlier when he told her that she looked really nice. When he reached the end of the zipper he could see the waistband of her underwear. "All done" he said with a heavy voice as he took a step backwards. He knew if he stayed any closer to her he wouldn't be able to behave himself.

April stepped forward away from Jackson and turned her head around to say "Thanks" shyly. She then grabbed her scrub pants quickly and put them on under her dress. She peaked around to see if Jackson was looking at her because she needed to take her dress off to put her shirt on. When she turned around she could see that he was looking at her. She quickly turned her head back around and decided that it really didn't matter if he saw her back, he has seen her naked.

He was shocked when April started taking off her dress. She was knowingly letting him watch her get undressed. She unhooked her bra and threw it on top of her dress. She covered her breasts when she bent to the side to grab her scrub top. He starred at her with desire. She then quickly put her scrub top on and turned around to face him. She blushed when she grabbed her dress and bra that was on the floor. She also grabbed his clothes that were on the floor. She folded both of their clothes neatly before placing them on the floor next to the bed. He laughed to himself at this because she was such a neat-freak.

"So, I guess we should go to bed" April said.

"I guess so…" Jackson said. April first climbed into the bed. Jackson was still standing there just looking at the bed. He wasn't sure if he had enough will-power to just lay there next to her when he was imagining many other things they could do instead. "Jackson…" April asked.

"Yeah…yeah" he said as he started to walk over to the bed to lie down next to her. He needed those thoughts to leave his head. He took the side of the bed against the wall. She was curled up on her side close to the edge of the bed facing away from him. He pulled the blanket over them and whispered in her ear, "Good Night". He then kissed her softly on the cheek.

"Night Jackson" she said, although she knew that it was going to be very hard to fall asleep with him right next to her.

**Did you guys like it? Leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is the next chapter. Hope you guys like it!**

April had a hard time sleeping. She kept waking up and falling back to sleep. It didn't help when a sleeping Jackson wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to his chest. She had to admit that being in the arms of Jackson felt nice, but it also just confused her.

She moved to grab Jackson's phone out of his pant pocket that was folded below on the ground next to the bed. When she grabbed his phone she checked what time it was. It was almost 5 in the morning. She sighed and put his phone back.

She turned around in Jackson's arm and looked at him. He looked really cute when he was sleeping. It was still hard to imagine not working everyday with him. She will be in Ohio; he will be in New Orleans. She knew that there was nothing she could do to change that so she decided to try to get some sleep. She was just about to close her eyes when he woke up.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" April whispered.

"No, I've been up." he said groggily. "I'm having a hard time staying asleep."

"Yeah, same here," April responded

"What time is it?" Jackson asked with a yawn.

"Almost 5," April answered.

"Great," Jackson said sarcastically. "Who ended up taking Zola?" Jackson asked.

"Callie took her", April responded, "I told her I didn't mind taking her but she insisted."

Jackson looked down at April and moved a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "How was she?"

"Not too good. She's really worried." replied April.

"I can imagine." Jackson said sadly.

April and Jackson just stared at each other for a couple of seconds. April could tell that he was scared. "How are you feeling?" April asked softly.

"Why do you keep on asking me that?" Jackson responded annoyed.

"Um, I don't know, I just want to make sure your ok. You usually keep your feelings to yourself when you're not…" April answered shyly.

"I'm fine." Jackson answered bluntly. He really didn't want to talk about his colleagues possibly being dead. They didn't know anything about it yet so he didn't want to freak himself out.

"Why are you getting mad at me?" April asked harshly as she sat up on the bed.

"I'm not April," he said looking up at her. "I'd just rather not talk about it." he said as he shook his head and repositioned himself to lie on his back with his hands behind his head.

"Why?" April said testing him.

"Really April," he said glaring up at her.

"Yeah, I know that you are really worried." she said sincerely.

"So is half the hospital." Jackson responded mockingly.

"Jackson, why can't you just talk to me about this?" April asked genuinely looking down at him.

Jackson just looked back up at April. He could tell that she sincerely cared about him and wanted to make sure he was okay. He wasn't okay. His friends could be dead, he is leaving Seattle soon, and things were unresolved between him and April. The reason he couldn't get any sleep was because he couldn't stop thinking about the girl lying next to him. He even pretended to be asleep so he could wrap his arm around her. Holding April felt nice. He was really confused and wanted to talk about something else. "I don't know April, why don't you ever want to talk about San Francisco?" Jackson replied looking up at her.

April just stared at him. "What,"

"I don't get why we don't talk about it." Jackson replied.

"But we have Jackson. I already told you how I feel about it." April answered hesitantly looking away from him.

"Barley," Jackson responded getting Aprils attention.

"Why you are bringing this up, I already told you how I felt before the residency dinner…" April replied quickly. Jackson continued to look at her. He knew if he didn't say anything she would continue to ramble on. "Well I don't know Jackson" April continued, "I already told you that I don't regret having sex with you, it felt…good." April shyly said "but…but things have changed in my life that I'm not happy about or proud of, but you um know that…this is just all… uh very random Jackson."

"Is it really though?" April just nodded her head. Jackson wanted to keep on talking about them but she clearly did not want to, so he decided he was going to just end their conversation. "When you didn't want to talk about us I didn't push you on it. So don't push me on this."

April just looked at him and knew that she should stop. He clearly did not want to talk about it. "Fine… I just wanted to make sure you were ok." She lied back down on her side so her back was to Jackson.

Jackson ran a hand over his face and sighed. He knew that she was upset know, so he didn't respond right away. He just looked at her for awhile.

Jackson turned onto his side to face April. "Hey," Jackson whispered to get her attention. She turned around to face him. "I'm sorry for acting like an ass. I'm just worried and I'm taking it out on you. You don't deserve that."

April looked at Jackson with her exhausted eyes. She lightly smiled and replied, "I'm sorry too. I just want you to know that you… you can talk to me if you need to… that's all." Jackson smiled back at her softly and April whispered, "We should probably try to get some sleep."

"Yeah," Jackson agreed quietly as April rolled back over. Jackson inched towards April and whispered, "You know… the first person I want to talk to about anything is you April."

April turned around to face Jackson with a smile and a slight blush "Yeah?"

Jackson nodded his head and continued softly "Yeah… you're the one person I truly trust."

April just smiled softly. She was about to respond when the on-call room door opened abruptly. It was Alex.

**How did you guys like it? Review :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry I haven't updated recently. It's a short one. Hope you guys like it! **

Alex walked into the on-call room to see if there was somewhere he could crash. He was very surprised to see April and Jackson sharing a bed when he opened the door. Their faces were almost touching. "What are you two doing?" asked a confused Alex.

April shot up to a sitting position, face visibly red. Jackson just rolled back onto his back and tried to block the light from the hallway streaming in. "Sleeping, can you shut the door… the light Karev…"

"Oh yeah, sorry" Alex shut the door and walked into the room. The curtains were open so it wasn't completely dark in the room. Alex just looked at Jackson and April. April looked embarrassed while Jackson looked annoyed. "Why are you guys sleeping in the same bed?"

"Um…well Alex, um…" April mumbled looking from Alex to Jackson.

Jackson sat up and placed his hand on the bed behind April and cut her off saying, "There were no open beds and we were both tired. Where have you been?"

Alex walked more into the room ignoring Jackson and April's proximity. "I walked around the hospital for awhile and checked on some of my patients, mostly been sitting outside the conference room. Freakin Hunt won't tell me anything." Alex sat down at the end of the bed and ran a hand over his face. "He seems worried." Alex looked up and tried to hide his fear. "So I decided to get some sleep. I figured you guys went back to the apartment."

"Well we both wanted to stay at the hospital just in case…you know." Jackson replied.

"Yeah same, where are Zola and Sofia?" asked Alex.

"Callie took them." April answered. She was still blushing.

"Oh ok, maybe taking care of them will keep her distracted" Alex responded.

"Yeah, hopefully," April replied.

"Yeah…" Alex spoke softly. He looked at Jackson and April. He was still confused about why they were sharing a bed. There were thousands of beds in this hospital, why did they have to share one…unless. "What a second" he pointed at them and continued, "Are you two doing it?"

"What!" April replied as her face became red again, "That's ridiculous."

Alex clapped his hands and jumped off the bed, "Ha, you two are freakin doing it!"

_I wish, _Jackson thought. He looked at April who was mortified. He knew that she was embarrassed at Alex's remark. He looked back at Alex who was smiling like an idiot, "We're not together."

"Whatever you say…" Alex replied mockingly.

"Alex we're just friends. You know that." April said sternly.

"Ha-ha yeah, horizontal friends." Alex replied with a laugh. He began to step backwards towards the door.

"Seriously, nothing is going on between us. We were just sleeping." Jackson stated seriously.

Alex unconvinced replied "Right."

"Alex…"was all a mortified April could get out.

"Hey I'm just going to crash before we have to get up for work. You two have fun." Alex said with an evil smirk. He laughed again before he left the room.

**Hope you guys liked it. Chapter 6 will come soon. Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here is Chapter 6. Enjoy!**

April sighed and dropped her face into her hands and began to shake her head. Jackson just laughed and plopped back down onto the bed. April turned around to look at Jackson and hit him lightly on the chest. "This isn't funny!" April replied to Jackson's laugh.

"It kind of is April." Jackson said as he fluffed his pillow.

"He is going to tell people!" April responded.

"Who cares?" Jackson replied.

"I care." April responded.

When April looked directly into his eyes he knew that she didn't want Alex gossiping about her. Jackson looked up at a still sitting April with a smile and said, "I'll talk to him tomorrow and tell him that we are not together, okay?"

"Okay," responded a still uneasy April.

"Hey, don't worry about it April. Its Alex, he's just busing our chops." He smiled up at April and continued "We have to get up soon so get some sleep." he said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her down so she was lying down next to him again.

"You're right," April said quietly. She looked up at Jackson with a small smile, "You're always right" she responded jokingly.

"Well I am an Avery…" he replied with a smirk.

April just laughed, "Goodnight loser" she said mockingly. She looked up at him with a soft smile before she shut her eyes.

Jackson smiled and moved a stray piece of hair away from her face and whispered, "Night."

* * *

Jackson had been busy all day. Owen sent an email to everyone earlier on the hospital staff about the missing plane. It was brief and stated that everyone should continue with their normal routine. He did not release any information about the whereabouts of their colleagues. Jackson was beginning to really worry because their friends were still missing, what was taking so long? Owen had assigned Jackson to Sloan's cases. He was busy rescheduling Sloan's surgeries and doing his post ops. Alex and April were doing the same with Arizona's and Hunt's patients.

Jackson was charting at the nurses' station when Alex walked up next to him with an evil smirk. Jackson looked at him and pushed him away. Alex stumbled a little and began to laugh. "You and Kepner… interesting."

Jackson looked at him annoyed and said, "Really Karev, nothing is going on." Jackson turned away from him and continued charting. "We are just friends."

Alex began charting next to him, "I can't believe you cashed Kepner's v-card." Jackson sighed and dropped his pen forcefully on the table. Alex was really beginning to piss him off. Jackson ran a hand over his face as Alex began to laugh again. He turned to Jackson and whispered, "Was she any good?"

Jackson turned to face a grinning Alex. Jackson really wanted to tell somebody about what happened between him and April. He really needed advice, but April did not want anyone to know. Also, Jackson didn't really want to tell Alex because he was being an ass. "Me and April are not together. She is my best friend, okay? We've been friends for years now, I don't think of her like that, at all." Jackson stated sternly.

Alex just looked at him, "Really?" Jackson just nodded his head. "I really thought you two were screwing." said Alex as he started charting again.

"Were not," Jackson answered as he also continued working. "Have you heard anything new?"

"No, I keep bugging Hunt but he won't tell me anything." Alex answered.

April then came to the nurses' station. "Can you begin the discharge papers for Mr. Smith?" April asked the nurse. The nurse just nodded and went to work. April turned around to face Jackson and Alex and asked softly, "Hey, do you two know anything new?"

"Nope, nothing" Jackson replied.

"It's not a good sign that it's taking this long." a worried Alex stated.

April was really beginning to worry. There was no new information about their colleagues' disappearance. Hunt wasn't telling anybody about anything and he hadn't left the conference room all day. April had been praying all day, but wasn't sure if it was doing any good. She was still confused about her faith.

April felt bad for Alex. He was obviously very worried. Cristina and Meredith were his close friends, and Arizona was his mentor. April put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him and said, "Hunt knows what he is doing, we just have to wait."

"Yeah I know," Alex began. He smiled down at the small red head. "Thanks April." April removed her hand from his shoulder and smiled at him. Jackson did not understand why he got jealous when April was comforting Alex. It was in her nature to help people, but for some reason it bothered him.

They all had resumed charting when Alex said to April, "So Avery told me you two aren't screwing"

April just blushed and kept looking at her work, "Yup."

Jackson looked up at Alex and pushed him again. Alex began to laugh when all of their pagers went off. Jackson looked down at his pager. He looked back up at April and Alex who got the same page and said with fear, "It's Hunt."

* * *

Hunt had paged Callie, Bailey, Webber, Teddy, April, Jackson, and Alex to the conference. He was going to tell the whole hospital the news later at the stairs, but he wanted to tell the people who were closet to everyone in the plane crash first.

When Jackson, April, and Alex arrived they sat down right away. They all could tell that Hunt didn't have good news to tell. He looked exhausted and sad.

When everyone arrived Hunt began to talk. "Hello everyone, as you all know the plane never arrived to Boise Memorial Hospital." Owen took a deep breath and looked at all the worried faces. "The plane crashed in the woods near Boise."

Everyone gasped. Callie with a trembling voice began to talk. "Are they okay…they have to be okay Hunt." Hunt just looked down at the table as Callie continued with worried eyes, "They're alive… right?" Bailey took her hand and Callie just starred at Owen.

"Meredith and Cristina sustained minor injuries…um…Derek has a bad injury to his hand from the crash…" he looked at Callie with sorrow, "Both Mark and Arizona sustained major injuries, I'm so sorry." Callie began to sob as an also crying Bailey comforted her.

Bailey looked up at Owen and asked, "What about Lexie, she's okay…right…"

Owen looked down at the table again and began to speak, "When the search and rescue team arrived at the site of the crash, she was stuck underneath a large piece of the plane. She was um…already dead when they arrived. There was nothing they could have um…done to help her…"

Callie and Bailey begin to cry harder. Teddy got up from her chair to comfort Hunt. Alex just put his face in his hands as tears began forming in his eyes. A sad Webber put his hand on his shoulder to comfort Alex. A teary eyed April looked up at Jackson. Jackson looked like he was in shock. He was just staring ahead. April looked down and saw that his hand was shaking. April's tears began to fall down her face slowly. She put both of her hands in his shaking one. "I'm so sorry Jackson."

Jackson looked down at April and whispered, "This can't be happening again."

**Hope I did okay with this chapter. How did you guys like it?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here is Chapter 7 :)**

After the news broke about the plane crash, Hunt told everyone to go home. He knew that there was no way they could take care of patients right now. Jackson, April, and Alex went back to their apartment. They all were quiet and did not talk about the crash. April made everyone a quick dinner and they all went their separate ways.

Jackson just laid in his bed wide awake. He couldn't believe that Lexie was dead and that Mark had major injuries from the crash. At one time he really cared for Lexie, and Mark was like a father figure to him, he had learned so much from him this year that made him a much better surgeon. He knew Mark must be devastated. Mark was madly in love with Lexie; they were meant to be. Now Mark will never be able to be with her again.

Thinking about this was just making him think of his situation with April. She was his best friend, he trusted her completely. But since the boards he has thought of her differently. He knew that there was something between them, something had changed, but it seemed like she didn't reciprocate those feelings.

Jackson kept tossing and turning. His brain could not shut off. Although things were confusing between April and him, he needed to see her. He needed his friend right now. He got out of his bed and quickly put on a shirt and pjs before he walked to April's room.

When Jackson got to the door he opened it slowly. He didn't want to wake her up if she was sleeping. When he opened the door all the way, he saw April look up at him, "Hey," she said softly.

"Hey, were you sleeping? I can leave." Jackson asked.

"No, I was up." April said with a yawn.

Jackson just stayed at the door awkwardly rocking from one foot to the other and said in a whisper, "I can't sleep." He looked at her with sad, tired eyes.

April sat up on the bed to get a better look at him, "Yeah…are you okay Jackson?"

Jackson just shook his head no and looked like he was going to cry, "Can I stay with you tonight April?"

April got up from her bed and walked over to him to give him a hug. She began to run her hand up and down his back in a comforting way. Jackson wrapped his arms tightly around her small figure. "It's okay Jackson," she said soothingly.

"I know things have been weird between us recently but I just need my friend, I need you." Jackson whispered.

"You know I'll always be there for you." April stated.

They just stood there for awhile as April continued comforting him. She felt so bad for him. She wasn't as close with the people on the plane. She was obviously sad about the crash, but Jackson and the others were a lot closer to them so she had to be strong for them. She didn't like Jackson like this, and she wanted to help him feel better.

"Everything will be okay." She said as she gave him a quick kiss on his shoulder.

Jackson felt like a mess. Even though he was grieving about Mark, Lexie, and everyone else that was on the plane, he liked the closeness that was happening between him and April. He liked that he was holding her in his arms and that she was comforting him. He wrapped his arms tighter around her. He could hold her in his arms forever.

He nuzzled his head into the crook of her shoulder. She began to massage the back of his head with her hand and gave him another quick kiss on the side of his head. She pulled away and grabbed his hand, heading them to her bed. He quickly shut the door and followed her. When they got in her bed, Jackson wrapped himself around her. April laid on her back and continued to comfort him until they both fell asleep.

* * *

A week had passed since they found out about the plane crash. Everyone had been very busy at the hospital. With 6 surgeons not working, there was a lot more work for everyone to do. Jackson and April had barley seen each other all week. The only time they saw each other was at night. Jackson usually woke up in the middle of the night screaming. When this happened, April usually went to his room to help him go back to sleep.

Now they were all at Meredith's house. Lexie's funeral was a few hours earlier. They all came to Meredith's house after the service. The service had been heartbreaking. Mark had cried the whole time. Before the service at the funeral home, Mark refused to leave Lexie at her casket. He was yelling at the funeral directors and kept saying, "We're meant to be." Now he was just sitting on the couch with a blank stare in his eyes.

April had stayed by Jackson's side the whole time. He was grateful to have April at a time like this. She was his rock.

Callie with Sofia in her arms walked over to April and Jackson who were standing in the corner of the room. "I'm going to leave to check on Arizona. Can you two keep an eye on Mark? He doesn't want to go to the hospital with me."

Arizona had been transferred to Seattle Grace Mercy West a few days ago. She had major injuries to her leg and at the moment could not walk. "Yeah, of course." April answered softly.

Callie just nodded her head and spoke, "And thank you for taking care of Sofia when I went to Boise, I really appreciate it."

April just smiled. She had watched Sofia and Zola all week with the help of Alex and Jackson. "Okay, I'm going to go, I'll see you guys later." she said as she scurried to the door.

April looked up at Jackson. He was just staring at Mark. She knew he felt bad for Mark. He had never seen Mark like this before, and she thought it scared him. "Hey, I am going to see if I can help Meredith in the kitchen, you should talk to him."

Jackson just nodded his head as she went to find Meredith. He walked over to Mark and sat next to him. "Hey Dr. Sloan, how are you?" Mark just continued to stare ahead and ignored him, so Jackson continued, "I am so sorry about Lexie, I know how much you cared for her…"

"She was so young." Mark said, still staring ahead.

"I know…" was all Jackson said.

Mark looked at Jackson and said, "I should have told her earlier that I loved her, I never stopped loving her."

"I think she knew, she was in love with you even when I was with her, she always loved you."

Mark put his hand on Jackson's shoulder and said sternly, "If there is a spark, you should tell her how you feel." Mark stood up and looked down at Jackson, "Don't wait… you might not have the chance later if you wait." He then looked away from Jackson and walked into the kitchen. Jackson just stared straight ahead and ran a hand over his face. He didn't want to wait.

**Did you guys like it? I will probably update in the next day or two. Review and tell me how you like the story so far, feedback always helps!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Like I promised, Chapter 8!**

April and Jackson stayed late at Meredith's to help clean up. When they got back to their apartment, Alex was not there. Since the crash, Alex had barley been at the apartment, he never left the hospital. He usually stayed in Arizona's room. He felt responsible for Arizona's injuries. Alex was originally supposed to go on the Boise trip, but was taken off the case when Arizona found out that he was going to Hopkins for his fellowship. So Arizona took his place, and he now felt guilty.

April walked into the kitchen and took two beers out of the refrigerator. Jackson followed her into the kitchen and sat down at the table. She sat down across from him and passed him a beer. Jackson grabbed the beer and opened it quickly. He had been drinking all day, and so had April.

"What time do you have to be at the hospital tomorrow?" asked April who began to drink her beer.

"I dunno, early." Jackson said as he continued drinking his beer.

"Yeah me too… maybe we should stop after we finish these?" said April.

"Probably…" said Jackson as he took another sip of his beer. He looked up at April and smiled at her. They just sat there for awhile, occasionally taking sips from their beers. This last week had been a tough one, and they were both tired, physically and emotionally.

Jackson couldn't get what Mark said off of his mind. Everything between them was complicated. He wanted more, but wasn't sure if she did. The way April took care of Jackson this week made him like her even more. She had been so caring and understanding with him.

April was looking down at her beer bottle when she asked, "So, when do you go to Tulane?"

Jackson looked up at her quickly, he had completely forgotten about Tulane. He was leaving in 2 weeks. The crash, the funeral, and the extra hours he had been working made him completely forget about leaving Seattle. He'd be leaving April soon. "I leave in like 2 weeks I think…"

April frowned and looked up at Jackson and said, "It's going to be weird not seeing you every day."

"Yeah…" he said looking at April. He noticed that her eyes were tired. She had a slight smile, but he could tell it was forced. He liked the way she had her hair today. It was down and curly, like the way she wore it at the boards. She was truly beautiful; he could look at her all day. He smiled and continued to drink his beer.

April was sad that they were both leaving soon. She didn't want to leave, but there was nothing here for her. She got fired from Seattle Grace Mercy West…again, and all her offers were pulled. She had to go back home. But she didn't want to think of her disappointments. April propped her elbow on the table and rested her head against her hand and looked at Jackson, "What are you thinking about?"

Jackson just looked right into her eyes and said, "I was just thinking about how much I care about you, and how much I am going to miss you." He smiled slightly and waited for her to respond.

April blushed and looked down at the table; she wasn't expecting him to say that. Their relationship had changed a lot since they first met as interns at Mercy West. They were always friends. The shooting made them closer, and the boards made them a lot closer. He was her best friend. She looked up at him and said, "I'm gonna miss you too." They just looked and smiled at each other while they finished drinking their beers.

When they were both done with their beers, Jackson got up to get two more beers out of the refrigerator. He sat back down at the table and passed April a beer. April began to laugh and said, "Hey I thought those were going to be our last ones?" April passed him back the beer.

Jackson laughed. "I changed my mind." He opened the beer she passed back to him and put it in her hand.

April took a sip of the newly opened beer and looked at him and smiled softly, "Are you trying to get me drunk, Dr. Avery?"

Jackson just looked at her with the same sexy eyes he had in the bathroom of the boards. "I think you're already a little drunk lightweight."

April noticed the way he was looking at her. It made her feel uncomfortable, but she also liked it at the same time. She grabbed her beer and twirled it in her hand when she said, "I'm not a lightweight." She was about to take another sip of beer when she dropped the bottle on the table. Jackson stood up quickly out of his chair before the beer got on him. "Shit," said April under her breath. April picked up the beer and walked over to the kitchen to get a towel.

Jackson laughed and said, "Who was right?"

April walked back from the kitchen and stuck her tongue out at him. She threw him a towel and said, "Just help me clean this up." She then tripped on her own feet, but kept her balance.

Jackson just laughed again and walked toward the table to help clean up. "I'm probably going to have to carry you to bed at this point."

"Ha-ha very funny" she said as she hit him lightly on the chest.

When they finished cleaning up the spilled beer, April took the dirty towels and put them in her hamper. Jackson sat back down at the table to finish his beer. When April came back into the kitchen she headed to the refrigerator and said, "I think I'm gonna head to bed."

Jackson got up to throw his empty beer bottle away. "Yeah, I should probably do the same."

April looked for a water bottle and said, "Want to drive to work together tomorrow?"

Jackson stood next to her and said, "Yeah, sounds good."

She took two water bottles out and handed one to Jackson. When she shut the refrigerator door she looked up at him and smiled, "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Jackson was mesmerized by her smile; he really wanted to kiss her. The last time they were close to kissing was at Joe's bar, but that ended with April storming out. But today at Meredith's house, Mark said to not wait, and he didn't want to wait. His eyes wandered down to her lips. He really wanted to kiss her. He placed a hand tenderly on her face and bent his head down to hers. When he was about to kiss her, April moved away slightly. She looked up at him "Jackson…"

Jackson removed his hand from her face and took a step back; "I'm sorry," he looked at the ground and ran a hand over his face, "I shouldn't have done that."

April looked up at him and said, "It's just we are both a little drunk, and you're feeling sad about Lexie and Mark."

Jackson lifted his head to look at her with a stunned expression, "That's why you think I want to kiss you?"

"Well yeah, I just think you are confused and that you're grieving."

"That's not why I want to kiss you." he said moving closer to her and grabbing her waist.

She stepped away from him and said, "I'm going to go to bed." She turned around and walk toward her bedroom.

Jackson just stood where he was and yelled, "Fine, avoid me, that's what your good at!"

She turned back around, "I don't avoid you."

He walked toward her and said, "No, but you avoid talking about us."

"There is no us to talk about." April said sternly.

"April we slept together…twice, and you never want to talk about it." Jackson replied.

April looked up at him and said, "But we did, before the residency dinner."

"Yeah, you said you were disappointed in yourself. But we didn't talk about us."

There was silence. They both didn't say anything for awhile. "I don't know what you want me to say." April said softly.

Jackson was getting impatient, "Why do you think I am so sad to leave April?"

"I don't know…I guess because you've worked in Seattle for um 7 years, um your friends are here, its familiar, um Dr. Sloan is a good teach—"

Jackson grabbed April's hand and held it in his own. He looked directly into her eyes and said, "I don't want to leave because of you."

**How did you guys like it? I was going to go a different way, but changed it to this. Hopefully it is realistic and turned out okay. Review! **


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